In this book 100 professional researchers from all over the world share for the first time what they know about happiness. No spiritual philosophy but evidence-based knowledge of recent experiments and life-long research. Set in a language that everybody understands. Grazing through more than 8000 studies in the World Database of Happiness (established by Professor Veenhoven, University of Rotterdam), we contacted the best researchers in positive psychology. We asked them to describe in some words what they have learned through their research on happiness and what specific advice they would give to people all over the world to improve their happiness. The final selection of the most relevant views contains 100 extraordinary extracts from specialists in more than fifty countries, from China and Japan, to India, Australia, Africa, Europe and America.

About the book

Welcome in The World Book of Happiness

My friends tell me that I am a life-expert in optimism. And so I decided to write a book about it: '100% Positivo'. In this book I went in search of the secret of optimism, both in myself and in the world around me. In the course of this search, I discovered that thousands of studies have already been carried out into optimism and happiness. And new ones are being conducted every day. The beginning of the 21st century is therefore not only shrouded in bad news. Worldwide, thousands of researchers are throwing themselves wholeheartedly into the relatively new discipline of positive psychology. Positive psychology does not take faults, failures and negative syndromes as its starting point, but is based on the positive power of people. If we have a better understanding of the things that make us healthy, happy and successful, then we can make better use of these mechanisms to create our own happiness and happiness in the world around us. After a lecture, I was once approached by a 17-year-old boy. He said: “Now I know what to answer when people ask me what I want to be. I am going to be an optimist." I understand now that this is also something you can learn.

The World Book of Happiness

Welcome in The World Book of Happiness

The first questions that journalists ask to people who specialise in optimism and happiness are always full of suspicion. “Are you some sort of idealist ? Can you not see what a sad and terrible place the world really is ?” These questions are often tinged with cynicism. Cynics are not often happy, but they are very pleased with themselves. They are effectively saying: “Look how clever and intelligent I am ! In just a few minutes I can extinguish all the passion, fire and hope that burns within you !” This is the easiest – but not the most rewarding – philosophy of life. Others try to play down optimism with trite formulas. “I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist, I am a realist.” So-called realists are really pessimists who won’t admit it. Of course, there are times when things go wrong and everyone has the right to feel sad on these occasions. Even so, there is an immeasurable positive force in each of us. And we can develop and strengthen this force. In Nepal I learnt the meaning of the daily greeting which says so much: Namasté (“I bow to the god in you”).

For this book I have read miles and miles of scientific reports and research results. But I was always surprised that none of my friends had ever heard anything about all of this. “Positive psychology ? What’s that ?” And so I decided to contact 100 of the most prominent experts in the field and asked them to sum up their work in a maximum of 1,000 words, as a message for the world. I discovered that positive psychologists are also nice people in real life. They were almost all happy to agree to my request. Because this was almost too easy, I decided to give myself an extra challenge. I wanted to bring insights from all over the world into contact with each other. I wanted to find specialists from 50 different countries, the number of countries I have been fortunate enough to visit myself. They would tell us (I hoped) how to make a difference in our lives by focussing on four key elements. Firstly, I only wanted insights founded on research-based knowledge: I wasn’t interested in spiritual philosophy. Secondly, their conclusions should not only concentrate on individual happiness, but also on the happiness of groups, biotopes, organisations and countries. Moreover, these conclusions should enable a crossfertilisation of ideas within a global vision for universal happiness. Finally, the texts needed to be written in a language that ordinary people can understand: in our search for happiness we don’t want to trip over the stumbling block of academic jargon. All the professors I contacted found this an original and testing challenge. But they rose to that challenge brilliantly. They succeeded in transforming information into knowledge, and knowledge into wisdom. I thank them all from the bottom of my heart and I hope that this book, in one way or another, will contribute to the happiness of every person in the world, so that we will not allow ourselves to be paralysed by the fatalism of fear, but will be inspired by the dynamic of hope – in spite of everything… and precisely for that reason.

“Kofi Annan received a personal copy of the book. He promised to spread the message of hope, happiness and optimism. His secret? Keep dreaming.”

About the author

Leo Bormans is global Ambassador of Happiness & Quality of Life. He is a writer and an inspirator. He has a master in languages and philosophy and is the author of the international bestsellers 'The World Book of Happiness' and 'The World Book of Love'.

'The World Book of Happiness' has been sent by European Chairman Herman Van Rompuy to all leaders of the world (including Barack Obama) as a special New Year’s gift in 2012. Kofi Annan received a copy while he addressed, together with Leo Bormans, the international youth conference Hope XXL, which has been inspired by the book.

In 2013 'The World Book of Love' has been offered by the Prime Minister of Belgium, Elio Di Rupo, to all the ministers of his government as a symbol for a warmer society.

Leo Bormans

Leo Bormans is living in Belgium. He has been working for more than 20 years for the government on active citizenship, empowerment, communication, positive education and positive journalism. He has worked for Unesco and has been for several years a board member of the Foundation of her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde in Brussels.

His initiatives on active citizenship and positive communication have inspired lots of organizations and policy-makers. He supports the international movement for Happiness and Quality of Life and is ambassador of different organizations in East and West (including Richard Layard’s Action for Happiness at the London School of Economics and the idea of Gross National Happiness of the government of Bhutan).

He is a successful motivational speaker and advisor of governments, managers, universities, social workers, teachers, organizations etc. all over the world. He is giving workshops and lectures for small groups and broad audiences on Happiness and Quality of Life. He has organized different international conferences with the contribution of experts in the field of positive psychology, including Lord Richard Layard (UK), Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener (USA), Prof. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (USA) and Prof. Samuel Ho (China). Leo Bormans has been invited from Malta to Bangkok, from Slovenia to Scandinavia, and is an appreciated keynote speaker at international conferences (including the World Conference Appreciative Inquiry 2012 and the European Congress of Positive Psychology 2012).

He pays special attention to happiness and well-being of all humans, not only “the happy few”. That’s why he is involved in specialized workshops for specific groups (drug addicts, students, teacher training, young people in problems, older people, mental health etc.). He organizes happiness interventions on broad scales (e.g. in cooperation with all doctors in Belgium, health care organizations and managers). For the moment he prepares two new publications: “Happiness at Work” and “Happiness in Relationships”.

Recently he got a lot of media-attention in Belgium because he succeeded to make a popular tv-talkshow completely silent during two full minutes. To prove the impact of silence as “quality attention”.

On the first “International Happiness Day” (March 20, 2013) he organized a huge event in Brussels in cooperation with the United Nations and the Embassy of Bhutan. More than 500 people (among them 14 ambassadors of different countries) took part in this highly appreciated event.

In 2013 'The World Book of Love' is launched. In this unique volume 100 experts from 50 countries share what we know about the most creative force in human life: love. It is first published in Dutch (April 2013), afterwards in English, German, French etc (September 2013). On September 25 the “International Conference on Love” will take place in Brussels.

International Editions

Dear publisher,

Do you know that positive feeling that you sometimes have as a publisher, when you create a book you fully believe in? A book that tens of thousands of readers love, a book that even influences social debate through its main themes? Well, that was the feeling we had when The World Book of Happiness was published. We succeeded in engaging the most brilliant scientists and unexpected newcomers to describe in their own words what they ultimately know about happiness and encouraged them to share their conclusions with the general public.

We are convinced that the The World Book of Happiness can also be an interesting publication for you – and one that will bring you joy for many years to come.

Maarten van Steenbergen, Director Publisher general non-fiction

A record of worldwide scientific research on happiness

Science presented in an appealing, accessible manner

Already more than 200,000 copies sold worldwide

English, German, French, Korean, Slovenian, Taiwanese and Japanese rights sold